The 3×3 profile grid
Split an image in 9 parts
Nine squares that read as one picture down a profile. The hard part is not the cutting, its the order — so every tile is numbered in the order you publish it.
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Drop an image here
JPG, PNG, WEBP or GIF. Read by your browser, never uploaded.
Choose an imageor paste with Ctrl / ⌘ + V
Quick templates
Tile shape
Paper
Output format
Your tiles
How the grid will read on your profile
Nine tiles, published backwards
A profile fills from the top left with whatever you posted most recently. So a 3×3 goes up in reverse: bottom right first, top left last. Almost every broken grid out there is a set posted in reading order by someone who didn't know that.
The numbers here are posting order, not position. Tile 1 is the bottom right square, tile 9 is the top left. The file names carry the same thing — photo-01-r3c3.jpg is first out and lands in row 3, column 3, so sorting the folder by name puts you in publishing order already.
What size should the original be?
Each tile ends up 1080 px square, so nine of them means a source of at least 3240 by 3240 to keep full detail. You can go smaller and it still cuts cleanly, the tiles just get scaled back up on upload and thats where the softness comes from.
| Source | Each tile | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 3240 × 3240 or more | 1080 × 1080 | Full detail, nothing scaled up |
| 2160 × 2160 | 720 × 720 | Slightly soft after upload |
| 1080 × 1080 | 360 × 360 | Noticeably soft, fine for graphics |
| Under 1000 px | Under 330 px | Find a bigger copy |
Square tiles, or 4:5?
The grid on a profile is always square — every thumbnail is cropped square from the middle whatever shape you posted. But the feed is not, and a 4:5 portrait post takes up considerably more screen while someone scrolls. Cut at 1:1 if the grid is the whole point, 4:5 if the individual posts have to earn their place too. Just keep faces and text out of the top and bottom tenth either way.
Make each square work alone
Nine people scrolling past see nine separate posts, and only someone who opens your profile sees the picture. A grid where three tiles are blank wall is three wasted posts. Move the crop until every square has something in it, and write a caption for each one.
How to make a 3x3 grid
- Drop a square-ish photo on the mat. Bigger than 3240 px if you have it.
- Drag and zoom until all nine squares have something worth looking at.
- Download the ZIP — the file names are already in posting order.
- Publish tile 1 first, then 2, and so on to 9, with nothing in between.
Questions
Which piece do I post first?
The bottom right one, numbered 1 here. Your newest post shows top left, so the grid has to be built backwards.
Can I fix a grid I posted in the wrong order?
Not without deleting. Theres no way to rearrange a profile grid, and archiving a post removes it rather than moving it. Delete the set and repost in the right order.
What image size do I need for a 3x3?
3240 by 3240 or larger keeps every tile at the full 1080 px. Smaller sources still work, they just soften when the tiles get scaled back up.
How long will the grid stay at the top?
Three posts push it down one row, nine push it off the first screen. Most people repost the set every few months, or plan the next nine so the rows keep working together.
Do the pieces line up perfectly?
They do. All nine come from one rectangle divided exactly into thirds, so adjacent tiles are cut from touching pixels. The thin lines you see between thumbnails are the app's own gaps, not the cut.